ABSTRACT
The concept of teachback originated in the 1970s with the educational technologist Gordon Pask, as part of his grand theory of ‘learning through conversation’. Teachback can be used for any type of teaching and learning, including sports coaching, science teaching and language learning. A small study of school science students showed that after teaching back their current knowledge the students produced richer diagrams to explain how objects move under gravity than the ones they had drawn before the teachback. Reciprocal teaching is a similar method to teachback. Students work in groups to read a text, then take it in turns to act as teacher. Some medical professionals have adopted a form of teachback to make sure that patients with ailments, such as diabetes or heart failure, have understood instructions about how to manage their medication.
